CHOP Out Hunger Receives $5,000 Grant from Tomorrow’s Leaders Today to Support Local Youth Facing Food Insecurity
- Rachel Santoro
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
CHOP Out Hunger is proud to share some inspiring news: we’ve been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Tomorrow’s Leaders Today (TLT) program, an initiative administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation. This grant will help fund CHOP Out Hunger’s in-school pantry and weekend backpack programs in Lackawanna County ensuring more children have reliable access to nutritious food all year long.
What makes this grant especially meaningful? It wasn’t awarded by a panel of adults - it was awarded by high school students.
Students participating in the TLT program, many of whom attend schools directly served by our programs, chose to invest in their peers, their schools, and their communities by funding CHOP Out Hunger. Their decision speaks volumes about the power of lived experience and student-led leadership.
“This grant carries a special kind of weight for our team,” said Dani Ruhf, Founder and CEO of CHOP Out Hunger. “To know that the decision to fund our programs came from students themselves, students who see the need firsthand and, in many cases, benefit from our services, is incredibly powerful. We’re honored to have earned their support and inspired by their leadership.”
This funding arrives at a critical time. Childhood hunger remains a daily reality for far too many families across our region. In 2024, CHOP Out Hunger supported 50,000 children across Pennsylvania and it’s partnerships like this that make our work possible.
The TLT grant not only fuels our mission, it also reflects it: young people taking action to ensure their peers have the resources to grow, learn, and thrive.
We are deeply grateful to the Scranton Area Community Foundation and the Tomorrow’s Leaders Today participants for their vision, compassion, and belief in our work.
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